Presently, natural resources are being rapidly depleted by pollution. These resources include water, air, and food. Scientific studies have been done at the Awaji Island Monkey Center which shows that toxins in food cause a high percentage of deformed monkey babies. The Center fed the monkeys the same imported foods (e.g. wheat, corn, soybeans, peanuts, etc.) that humans consume. Now, there is an increase amount of human babies that are born with abnormalities of an unknown cause. These abnormalities are probably due to agricultural medicines and chemical fertilizers used in growing crops for human comsumption.
Another factor that probably contributes to the abnormalities of human babies is the pollution in the environment. Also, bottled water has become a greatly demanded source of drinking water today. However, the bottled waters presently sold on the market, although somewhat inexpensive, do in fact contain harmful preservatives (perhaps even poisonous) which allow for the long-term storage of this water. The present invention provides a revolutionary method for removing toxins from various materials in a medium of water by utilizing a 10,000 volt electric charge in conjunction with large surface charcoal to provide toxin-free materials. For example, pesticides can be removed from fruits and vegetables for safe consumption. Other examples of materials that can be detoxified are metal materials containing ferric oxide, synthetic resins, poisonous gases, etc. Alternatively, the present invention provides an improved method and apparatus which purifies water by utilizing high-voltage electricity in conjunction with large surface charcoal. This provides clean water for drinking.
Though there are no known methods like the present invention for detoxifying materials, there are known in the art general water purification methods and devices. These consist of methods and devices wherein the liquid (water) is passed, sequentially or in parallel, through inter-electrode gaps formed by flat electrodes, with a constant or pulsating voltage in the range of 3 to 30 volts.
Disadvantages of the above process, resulting from a rather low field intensity, its uniformity and the character of the process hydrodynamics, reside in the deposition of an oxide film on the anode surface, the presence of a concentration polarizing effect, deposit formation on the cathode, increasing equivalent resistance of the inter-electrode space, and the necessity of introducing an oxidizing agent to convert Fe(OH).sub.2 into Fe(OH).sub.3.
Another prior art method for the electric purification and decontamination of liquids comprises passing a liquid through a packed inter-electrode space comprising of metal chips or other metal particles, arranged in layers separated from each other by porous diaphragms, the voltage across the electrodes being less than 100 volts.
A disadvantage of the above-described method is that the porous diaphragm tends to become clogged with metal hydroxide due to a limited volume of flake removal, resulting in increased hydraulic resistance to the flow of liquid, with a considerable portion of the flow passing through the packed inter-electrode space without taking part in the purification process, since the surfaces of the chips in the packing are in a state of mutual electrical contact.
According to another known method the liquid passes through the inter-electrode space formed by coaxially arranged cylinder electrodes, the voltage applied thereto being less than 100 volts. A disadvantage of this method is that there is a low efficiency of dipolophoresis, which is due to low non-uniformity of the electric field and concentration of suspended particles. This, in turn, is due to intensive deposition of particles on the anode under the conditions of quiet hydrodynamics of the process.
Also known in the art is a method for the purification and decontamination of liquids by means of a high-voltage electric discharge wherein a liquid is subjected to the effect of electrical discharge, the voltage used being in the order of 10,000-100,000 volts, current over 100 amperes and pulse duration of from 0.1 to 100 microseconds, which results in heavy losses of electric power, the presence of reactance losses, unsatisfactory bactericidal effect, dangerous sounds, voltages and currents, as well as the formation of cancerogenic substances in the process of purification.
Also known in the art is an apparatus for effecting the purification and decontamination of liquids for realizing the first mentioned method, which apparatus comprises a coagulation chamber having electrodes in the form of flat plates. A disadvantage of this apparatus resides in a large anode surface and the impossibility of smooth adjustment of the inter-electrode space, which results in the formation of an oxide film on the surface of the anode, the appearance of concentration polarization, the formation of deposits on the cathode which increases equivalent resistance of the inter-electrode space, and the need to introduce an oxidizer for the purpose of converting Fe(OH).sub.2 into Fe(OH).sub.3.
The known apparatus for effecting the electric purification and decontamination of liquids realizing the above-mentioned method wherein packed electrodes are used in the form of a bank of cells separated from each other by porous diaphragms arranged between current-conducting electrodes, has disadvantages which reside in the fact that as the process proceeds the packed material tends to dissolve, which calls for the application of special devices for compressing the packed material and requires the current polarity to be changed.
There is also known an apparatus for realizing the above-mentioned method wherein use is made of cylindrical electrodes and the apparatus comprises a coagulation chamber with coaxial cylindrical electrodes.
A disadvantage of the apparatus resides in the fact that due to low non-uniformity of the electrical field of the inner large-diameter electrode, which reduces the value of dipolophoretic forces, independent of the charge of the particles, it is necessary to provide a pre-setter for removing large particles having low electric charge.
Also known in the art is an apparatus for the electric purification and decontamination of liquids for realizing the method and employing a high-voltage electrical discharge. In this apparatus the starting liquid flows through a coagulation chamber wherein at least two rod type electrodes are disposed, one of the rod-type electrodes is electrically insulated from the housing of the coagulation by means of an insulator, the electrodes being disposed inside the housing in such a manner that their longitudinal axes lie in parallel planes, the distance between the planes being within the size of the inter-electrode space.
The electrodes in the apparatus are fixedly secured in the housing. Among the disadvantages of the apparatus is a large destruction of insulation of one of the electrodes, a low degree of utilization of the purification volume, the necessity of frequent replacement of one of the electrodes, and the need of having a very high strength housing.
Briefly, Smirnov et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,169,029, for "Method for Electrical Purification and Decontamination of Liquids and Apparatus for Effecting Same", discloses a method for the electric purification and decontamination of liquids containing suspended and dissolved matter, such as mineral, organic and biological substances, comprises passing a pulsating electric current through a starting liquid, the current having sufficient pulse duration and voltage to cause electric discharge between the electrodes. An apparatus for realizing the method of electric purification and decontamination of liquids comprising a coagulation chamber with at least two rod-type electrodes electrically insulated by means of individual insulators from the housing of the coagulation chamber and mounted together with their insulators to execute reciprocal motion along their longitudinal axes.
Additionally, the science of affecting and treating fluids by submitting them to magnetic fields has been recognized and used for many years. The phenomenon is known as magnetohydrodynamics. It is based on the observations and teachings of Michael Faraday, and appreciated through the analysis of the electromotive forces generated by passing conductive materials between the poles of magnets. A generator is a common utilization of this effect. The Lorentz principal states that ions are separated by a charge when passed between the poles of a magnet. This principal explains in part the effects of treating fluids with magnetic fields. There are most likely additional discoveries to be made in the application of magnetic forces to a flowing fluid. Voluminous additional information, well-known in the art, will not be discussed here, but exists with respect to the above teachings.
The hydrogen atom, prevalent in, for example, water, is known to be highly susceptible to the influences of magnetic fields. An application of this principal is the processing proton magnetometer that is used to measure the total magnetic intensity of a sample of hydrocarbon fluid or water. Another application of this teaching is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Even though the purpose of both of these concepts is to measure the energy released by the spinning protons after they are aligned by a magnetic field and subsequently disturbed either by the earth's magnetic field or a radio frequency wave propagated toward the sample, they serve to illustrate the scientifically accepted phenomenon of realigning spinning protons with magnetic force. Additionally, such concepts confirm that energy is released when the spinning protons are so affected.
Spinning protons in fluids including water, alcohol, gasoline, kerosene, and many others act as spinning magnetic dipoles. Under normal circumstances, these protons spin randomly inside their respective atoms. The dipoles are temporarily polarized and aligned by the influence of a magnetic field. Magnets may be employed to create consistent powerful magnetic fields that cause the protons to align and spin in uniform directions. This alignment and subsequent concentration of energy in uniform directions causes an attraction between, for example, the hydrocarbon fuel molecule and the oxygen molecule. When used with water, the result is purification and decontamination of water.
However, prior art magnetic fluid treatment devices are typically inefficient in generating a strong magnetic curtain in tile fluid flow path and are frequently limited in the sizes of conduit they can treat. Additionally, existing designs require manufacturing techniques that result in high cost due to needing completely different components for each size of conduit. The effectiveness of the magnetic field is, of course, dependent upon the strength of the magnetic field and that strength is also known to be inversely proportional to the square of the distance from the magnetic source. The prior art has been generally ineffective in optimizing the magnetic field strength that may be obtained from a permanent magnet array, and has further been ineffective in treating large systems employing conduits of significant cross sectional diameter in which large volumes of fluid pass. The prior art has further not provided magnetic fluid treatment devices which are modularized to accommodate various fluid flow systems and to allow the magnetic treatment of the same to be tailored to a particular system. Additionally, the prior art has typically not proposed magnetic fluid treatment devices which may be either intrusive for implementation with new fluid flow systems, or non-intrusive to be easily added to existing fluid flow systems. By "intrusive", it is contemplated, according to the present invention, that the magnetic fluid treatment device will be inserted in-line, or in series, with the fluid pathway. Conversely, by "non-intrusive", it is contemplated that the magnetic fluid treatment device of the present invention will be affixed to the perimeter or exterior surface of the fluid pathway, such as by clamping a the magnets around the pipe that is carrying the fluid to be treated.
In light of the foregoing, it is a first object of the invention to provide a novel material detoxification device in which utilizes high-voltage electricity in conjunction with large surface charcoal and water to remove toxins from a variety of materials or objects.
Still a further object of the invention provides a material detoxification device which employs a modular design so that additional units can be added if circumstances require, and which further allows for the mounting of the modules to a conduit in a variety of configurations or geometries as circumstances dictate.
Yet an additional object of the invention provides a material detoxification device which may be non-intrusive to accommodate ease of application to existing fluid systems.
A further object of the invention provides a material detoxification device which includes a plurality of parallel devices for treatment of large capacity fluid conduits.
Still a further object of the invention provides a material detoxification device which is reliable and durable in use, and cost effective in implementation, by the use of commonly available materials.
Another object of the invention provides a material detoxification device wherein backing plates can be used for either intrusive or non-intrusive designs.
The foregoing and other objects of the invention which will become apparent as set forth herein in the detailed description of the preferred embodiment of this invention.